Panasonic DMP BDT500 - Page 24

Thanks for your advice, pulled the trigger, especially since amazon's price is at 270.83. I am sure I will be very happy with the player!!

I agree with you on the choice of connections, it was kind of confusing in the manual. I am using mine in 2 channel audio set up only for now, and I am very impressed with the sounds so far. It betters the DACS in my receiver (granted it's an old one denon avr-5700) I also had the sony 790 in my system for a while, and I was really hoping to love it but it just didn't excite me as much as this player has.

Thanks again for your input.

Eric

Congratulations Mean Gene,remember to update the firmware when you get it .

Very interesting. I'm more than a little surprised at the similar cost of the Sony 790, given that it does not seem to have 7.1 analog outs. Does it play SACD?

Still pretty early for owner reviews, but on amazon Sony 790 gets 3.5 stars, and the slightly more expensive Panasonic 500 gets 4.5 stars.

Of course one needs to read those reviews in order to have hope of making sense of it.

Been a while since I've owned any Sony player, so not much interest there for me.

I am using the dual HDMI outputs on the DMP-500. I have the HDMI sub going to my processor and the HDMI main going to an HDMI input on my 3D TV..

For some reason, my processor is not picking up the Master Audio soundtrack but instead is getting Dolby Digital - am I missing a setting somewhere?

Both the Sony BDP-S590 and S790 play SACD. People who've compared the 790 to the 500 claim Sony's network streaming features are more usable than Panasonic's. Its DVD upscaling options are somewhat different, too. The 790 also supports upscaling to 4Kx2K resolution for use with 4K displays.

I rather suspected that. Doesn't matter to me as I already have 3+ other players that play SACD and DVD-A discs.

FWIW 1st thank you for your input! Especially that the Sony 790 plays SACD discs.

2nd it's still pretty early for "People who've compared the 790 to the 500" type comments.

3rd is that 4K sales of any kind is likely less than 1% of current market.

You're quite welcome.
Several comparisons have been posted to the "help me choose a player" thread. e.g. http://www.avsforum.com/t/959985/official-help-me-choose-a-player-thread-cant-decide-start-here/13710#post_22213131
That's true, but at least a couple of people with 4K projectors have made positive comments in the 790 thread.

Does anyone know if the DACS in the 500 are better than the DACS in my Onkyo 805?

I can play around and see which sounds better: bitstream via hdmi and let my reciever do the work or analog out and let the player decode..

Originally Posted by Star Hawk:

"I just got my 500 today. I have been wondering whether or not to let my 500 do HD audio decoding and thereby send 5.1 - 7.1 LPCM to my AVR (Yamaha RX-V663). I do have HDMI sub v. off and the LED on the front panel indicates such. Your settings suggest that you are letting the player do the decoding rather than your AVR. Correct? Looks like the benefits of letting the player decode DTS HD MA and Dolby TruHD is that it can add selected effects like dialog enhancer and 7.1 ch. audio reformatting as well as other effects. My old AVR can't do those things if it is sent bitstream HD Audio. It goes into a 'straight jacket' mode. It won't let me do anything with the decoded signal other than the usual bass management and YPAO room EQ settings. Thanks for sharing your audio settings."

---

You're saying then that there is no nothing special about the player doing the decoding if you keep everything digital, I understand that. The cheaper 320 can do that. However, there is another feature of the 500 for those who have older AVRs like my V663. Using the HDMI audio sub output, I can send either LPCM or bit stream dts HD to my AVR. In this case, I would rather send LPCM instead of bitstream dts HD.

Star Hawk you are correct,your receiver can decode the newer lossless formats through bitstream.You have many options to get the best sound for your liking.However,I think the dacs in the 500 are better than the 663.

I would recommend to anyone who doesn't require 7.1 analog support to audition the Sony.

I am only aware of one individual (joerod) that has a 4K projector and there is no consumer 4K material that I am aware. 4K will probably be at the bottom of most purchasers required features.

Hi,
I just perchased this unit. Can you guys tell me if you are getting a delay when useing FF,REV, and skip?
The delay I am getting is about 3-4 seconds.

The 790 does offer SACD, and SBM, and 4K up conversion. I had read some positive reviews on it so I gave it a spin. I have to say in my opinion the picture/video quality was no better than the 590 model from sony on my display. (Panny Plaz), as a matter of fact I was not impressed with the bluray quality at all. This was pretty surprising considering all the positive reviews. I then tried the panny 320 and was very impressed with the video quality, so when the 500 came available I bought that to replace the 320 since I wanted something with high quality analog audio to replace my cd player. I am very happy with my purchase so far.

Cheers,

Eric

If you're using the 7.1/5.1 analog outputs, what brand/model RCA wires are you using, and how do you like them? I have an an Anthem AVM20 pre/pro and Classe Amp. The Blue Jeans wires look like they may be a good match for my system price wise. The Monoprice wires may seem too cheap. What do you think? My 500 should be here sometime next week. Thanks.

I have a 5 channel snake from BJC for my amp and it was worth it to have a single high-quality snake. I wouldn't hesitate to get another one should I need to. The RCAs I have gotten from other places do not compare to BJC. I didn't think monoprice had any multichannel RCA connectors and I would have needed to run several pairs of their RCA stereo connectors.

I use some PE Belkin close-out copper-braided, foil shielded RCA cables. They're every similar in construction to the BJC Belden 1694A cable, though I'm sure they're not quite equal. I paid $1.28 per cable for the Belkins on closeout @ PE. I use a stereo pair of C-T-G SonicWave cables for the front L+R (I'm a huge stereo listener). All cables are 6ft in length and they are loomed together currently.

The Belkins are RG-6 with a solid core and are less flexible than the SonicWaves, but this is a non issue for me.

They run to my Arcam AVR300's analog 7.1 inputs.
Edited by BufordTJustice - 7/14/12 at 2:40am

Both Blue Jeans and Monoprice make competent cables. Don't mistake the price of Monoprice's cables as being inferior. Audition both if possible and return the ones you don't like.

I still have the 500 in my set up. What can I say, I'm still hooked on its 3D performance.

And combined with a Darblet.

The Monoprice RCA interconnects are inferior when you consider their death-grip connectors; and they're also hard to grip for removal, which can put the unit at risk of damage when you struggle to bend the connector back and forth to get it removed.

BJC offers RCA interconnects with superior connectors at a very reasonable price.

The one that I've ordered from them is the Canare RCAP RCA connector. Spring loaded so no death grip; easy to grip for removal from a tight spot.

BJC also have a 2nd type as well as their standard RCA connector. Call them up on their 800 phone number and ask.

This is the one that I use for both coax digital and also analog RCA: http://www.bluejeancable.com/store/digital-audio/index.htm

For a tightly bunched set of RCA 5.1 connectors (as on the rear of the 500 player), I pull the orange rubber thingies to the center of the cable.

All I use is Blue Jean cables - outstanding quality at a great price.

Chuckg1: Thanks to your settings, I now have great sound, including to my previously silent subwoofer. Thanks again for posting your audio settings. And since you're obviously a guy who knows what he's doing, I wouldn't mind learning about your video settings, as well, to use as a starting point for my own adjustments, if you have the time and inclination to post them.

I own cables from both BJC and Monoprice and have been quite happy with both without incident regardless of eithers price. Also, I have average to large hands and have not had any problems with Monoprice's connectors.

In my Theater I use a Monster HDX (Hyper Speed for 4K up converted or Blu ray 3D & 2D) 35 footer without any issues. I do use Monoprice everywhere else in my home.

It is interesting how some cable websites talk up their construction process, but sometimes it is just talk and a way to justify their higher price. However, I do understand that depending on the application the construction of the cable should be a consideration. I persoanlly use reasonably priced cables from Monoprice and the Belkin PureAV AV50300 series of interconnects.

Hi, I have completed setting up my 500 player for both audio and video. I am posting my settings just in case anybody is interested.

My 500's firmware is the latest: version 1.39.

My 500's primary HDMI output is connected to my 55" Sony Bravia TV. The HDMI (Sub) Output is connected to my old Yammy RX-V663 AVR which cannot pass 3D video. The 500 is setup to decode the HD Audio and send LPCM 5.1 to the V663. Similarly, I am using my Directv receiver, HR 24, coaxial ouput set to bitstream DD 5.1 to my V663 AVR. My HR 24 receiver's HDMI output is connected directly to my 55" Bravia. Thus it all boils down to no video being sent to my V663 at all.

My video settings are:

Picture Mode: Cinema
Picture Adjustment: Left at 500's default settings
Chroma Process: Normal
Detail Clarity: 0
Super resolution: 0
HDMI Output:
HDMI Resolution: 1080p
24p Output: ON
HDMI Color Mode: YCbCr (4:4:4)
Deep Color Output: Auto
Contents Type Flag: Auto
HDMI (Sub) Output Mode: V. OFF
Still Mode (paused video): Auto
Seamless Play: OFF
Black Level Control: Left at default since it's not applicable

And just fwiw, I may as well share my 500's audio settings too:

Sound Effects: OFF
Dialog Enhancer: OFF
Dynamic Range Compression: OFF
Digital Audio Output:
Dolby D/Dolby D+/Dolby TrueHD: PCM
DTS/DTS-HD: PCM
BD Secondary Audio: OFF
HDMI (Primary) Audio OutPut: OFF
PCM Down Conversion: OFF
Down Mix: Surround Encoded
7.1ch Audio Reformatting: OFF
High Clarity Sound: Enable
Audio Delay: 0 ms
Analog Audio Output: 2 ch + 5.1 chn

One thing I would like to note in particular, is that I didn't care for the Dialog Enhancer. It didn't sound natural too me.

Thanks I'll be using these settings since you probably know more about this stuff than me.